US won’t fund parties â€" envoy
Apr 07, 2009
THE US will not fund political parties to run their campaigns as requested by the various party leaders in Masaka district, US ambassador Steven Browning has said.
By Ali Mambule
THE US will not fund political parties to run their campaigns as requested by the various party leaders in Masaka district, US ambassador Steven Browning has said.
Addressing political party leaders at the Masaka disrict headquarters on Friday, Browning said it was the responsibility of the party leaders to solicit for assistance from other countries if they wished but not from the US.
“We do not provide money to a political party to run their political campaigns. That is something we stay away from,†Browning said.
He said through the International Republican Institute, the US government aimed to strengthen political parties by sensitising them on how to maintain their supporters and run their activities smoothly.
The district chairperson for the Forum for Democratic Change, Godfrey Kayemba, critiscised the US for double standards, saying the National Resistance Movement (NRM) party operated on donor funds mainly from the US.
Masaka LC5 chairperson Vincent Sempijja who doubles as the district NRM chairperson, said he faced similar problems like other parties.
“Sometimes I find my self using my own money to pay for the party’s office rent. We also have no money in NRM,†Sempijja told the ambassador.
The chairperson of the Masaka district Non-Governmental Organistaion Forum, Godfrey Mwanje, said politicians were more accommodative of each other unlike in the past.
THE US will not fund political parties to run their campaigns as requested by the various party leaders in Masaka district, US ambassador Steven Browning has said.
Addressing political party leaders at the Masaka disrict headquarters on Friday, Browning said it was the responsibility of the party leaders to solicit for assistance from other countries if they wished but not from the US.
“We do not provide money to a political party to run their political campaigns. That is something we stay away from,†Browning said.
He said through the International Republican Institute, the US government aimed to strengthen political parties by sensitising them on how to maintain their supporters and run their activities smoothly.
The district chairperson for the Forum for Democratic Change, Godfrey Kayemba, critiscised the US for double standards, saying the National Resistance Movement (NRM) party operated on donor funds mainly from the US.
Masaka LC5 chairperson Vincent Sempijja who doubles as the district NRM chairperson, said he faced similar problems like other parties.
“Sometimes I find my self using my own money to pay for the party’s office rent. We also have no money in NRM,†Sempijja told the ambassador.
The chairperson of the Masaka district Non-Governmental Organistaion Forum, Godfrey Mwanje, said politicians were more accommodative of each other unlike in the past.